Surprises for

retaining the urn Down Under.

While the 26-year-old felt he was on the fringes of England’s limited-overs sides, a return to the Test ranks for the tour to Australia was not on his mind following a mediocre summer with the red ball for Hampshire.

Vince, who has amassed 596 runs at a moderate 33.11 in this year’s Specsavers County Championship, was nevertheless thrilled to be recalled.

He said: “To play for England last summer was special but to be called up for an Ashes tour is probably the best thing that can happen.

“I guess nowhere really. I had my winter planned out with my T20 stuff and I hadn’t really thought about the possibility of a call-up.

“My white-ball form has been really good and, if anything, I’d have said I was closer to being picked in white-ball stuff so it did come as a surprise.

“My plans in the last 24 hours have changed a huge amount. I can’t wait to get out there and get stuck in and hopefully have a good tour.”

The decision to include Vince has split opinion even though there is a suspicion his batting will be better suited to Australian conditions.

He added: “I have played bits and pieces in Australia and, with the Kookaburra ball and generally pretty good batting wickets, it’s a different test to playing in England where there is more lateral movement.

“You have to deal with pace out there and I feel that my game is pretty well-suited to playing against pace.”

Gary Ballance was another selection which was debated in some quarters but the Yorkshire captain is eager to prove his doubters wrong.

The Yorkshire captain has been criticised for a flat-footed technique while he had a high